The survivors are trying to deal with the physical and emotional aftermath of the shooting spree. They say it hasn't been easy.

By Cindy SwirkoStaff writer

On Oct. 4, 2010, one troubled young Gainesville man tragically altered the lives of others, tested the ability of police and emergency responders like no other recent event and terrorized sections of east Gainesville for 15 minutes.It ended when Clifford Miller Jr., 24, killed himself after slaying his father and randomly shooting five others, one of whom later died.Now, the survivors are trying to deal with the physical and emotional aftermath of the shooting spree. They say it hasn't been easy.

The Sun spoke with the four survivors — Cedric Joiner, Lloyd Dunn, Paul Anthony and Anthony Mitchell — about the shootings and their lives since. The parents of Vincent Sallet, 43, the shooting victim who died, did not want to talk about the incident.The first of 25 911 calls regarding the shootings came at 4:03 p.m. The final call came at 4:16.In between, Miller Jr. first shot his father, Clifford Miller Sr., 52, at their home at 914 SE 10th Ave.Driving his dad's red pickup, Miller Jr. drove around the corner to shoot Joiner and Dunn at 907 SE Ninth St. He continued driving, crossing Williston Road to fire at Sallet at 618 SE 12th Terrace and then Anthony at 434 SE 13th Terrace.Heading east on Hawthorne Road, he turned into a neighborhood and shot Mitchell at 3900 SE 17th Ave. Back out on Hawthorne Road, he continued east, pulled into a neighborhood and shot himself at 2306 SE 46th Terrace.The survivors have either retained or are considering retaining lawyers. If a suit is filed, one target is likely to be Meridian Behavioral Health Care.Miller Jr. had been treated for mental illness in the past. Several victims said that his father took him to Meridian the morning of the shooting and that he was denied medication.Danielle Cohen, an attorney with the Chestnut Firm, is representing Joiner and Anthony. Cohen said she has sent letters to Meridian's insurance company regarding a settlement. If a settlement is not reached, a lawsuit could follow, she said.Dunn has a different attorney, but he also said Meridian may be sued.

Cedric Joiner

Joiner's jaw was shattered by a bullet on Oct. 4. Now his life is shattered."It's been rough," Joiner, 37, said. "I wake up in cold sweats thinking this guy is after me. It's hard."Joiner was in the front yard trying to get some lawn maintenance work done when he heard several shots — Miller Jr. shooting his father around the corner. Joiner knew who Miller was but didn't know much about him.Shortly after hearing the shots, Joiner said he saw Miller swing around the corner in the pickup."As he rode by, we locked eyes. I didn't think nothing of it so I turned my head. I heard the gravel from where he stopped the truck and was driving up the driveway. Then I heard the loudest sound in my life," Joiner said. "I knew something happened because my whole body cringed. I felt the blood running down my face. Honestly, there was no burning. It was a lot of pressure. I tried to run. I snaked between some cars and I could hear him still shooting. I could hear bullets hitting other cars."Joiner ran into some woods and jumped into a ditch to cool himself. He sat on the bank and started praying. Then Joiner went back to his car and a friend took him to the Gainesville fire station on South Main Street. He was taken to the hospital from there.In the meantime, Lloyd Dunn had been shot in the same yard as Joiner.Joiner was shot in his right cheek and tongue. He needed extensive surgery, including plates inserted into his jaw. He was hospitalized for two months.Joiner, who was born and raised in Gainesville and has four children, needs several more reconstructive surgeries. Steady work is not an option now, Joiner said, because of the time he will need off for the surgeries. Meanwhile, Joiner said he is upset that the shooting claimed Sallet, a friend of his."It would be useless for me to get a job now because I need three more surgeries. Social Security has denied me, telling me that according to my physical I can work. But how can I get a decent job and support a family when I have to get a bone taken out of my hip and put in my jaw?" Joiner said. "My friend Vince, he died. That still bothers me. I don't know whether to be thankful, because I don't want to be selfish. But I lost a friend. Inside, I'm ripped."

Lloyd Dunn

Dunn, 67, was sitting in a chair by the door at 907 SE Ninth St. visiting with some friends and relatives when he heard the popping sounds of gunfire, believing it was firecrackers.The next thing he knew, he took a bullet in his right upper arm."It was a .38 and at that range, with that force, it knocked me out of the chair," Dunn said. "I was conscious. It hit the bone and shattered that bone. It's hard to describe how it felt. At first, when it knocked me down, I didn't feel anything. It was numb. But when the feeling came back in, that's when the pain started."Dunn was in the hospital for about three days. Now Dunn is getting physical therapy at the VA. He struggles to lift his arm above shoulder height, adding that he will never regain full use of it.Dunn lives in the Zuber community north of Ocala in Marion County. He spent part of his life in Gainesville after his mom moved here when he was about 5 years old, still has relatives here and would move back here if it weren't for Lucky, a mutt that guards his small cabin and has a tendency to bite — he's afraid Lucky would bite his young relatives, but he is attached to Lucky and doesn't want to give him up.A house painter before retiring, Dunn still picked up odd jobs here and there. That's impossible now, Dunn said, because of his arm."I can only lift it so far now … I'm right-handed so everything I do is with the right arm. I'm hindered. I can't lift anything heavy," Dunn said.In the meantime, Dunn said he has gotten several bills from Shands and doesn't know how he will be able to pay them.Dunn knew Miller Sr., but not Miller Jr. At first, Dunn was angry with Miller Jr. Now, knowing what he does about Miller Jr.'s medical issues, Dunn feels sorry for him."If they had given him medication or at least confined him — they shouldn't have turned him back out on the street with mental problems," Dunn said. "At first I was glad he killed himself but now that you look at it — without the medication — he wasn't in his right mind."

Paul Anthony

Anthony, 44, had just gotten home from work at Captain D's, where he's a manager, when he noticed that some new shrubs needed some care.Watering them, he noticed something odd. No one else was out and about on Southeast 13th Terrace — unusual because neighbors were typically socializing or working on an outdoor project.Anthony heard a gunshot and then ambulances — the sound of Sallet getting shot a block over. He heard a loud truck on the next street over, and then on his street, driving slowly — maybe 2 mph."When he came in front of my house he yelled out something. I turned around. He was already putting a gun out the window. I did a double take. When I looked the second time, I was shot," Anthony said. "I tried to stand up. When I stood up, he shot me the second time."The first shot hit Anthony's chest. The second was from behind, entering his buttocks and lodging in his groin dangerously close to a major artery. Miller Jr. fired a third shot but missed.Suddenly, neighbors were streaming from their homes to help. A Gainesville police officer arrived and tended to Anthony with an emergency kit that included gear to stem bleeding from chest wounds. Anthony said that action helped save his life.His hospital stay was about a week followed by rehab at his mother's house. The bullet in his groin was in too tricky a spot to remove at the time, but it was taken out by doctors about a month ago."I was having so much pain. I went for a follow-up and the doctors determined that (the bullet) had moved enough that they could remove it," Anthony said. "I have good days and bad days. It's definitely not the same as it was."Anthony had returned to work at Captain D's but he cannot function as well as he did before the shooting — he can't lift heavy boxes or equipment and his work on the line is slowed.Anthony said he is grateful for all of the help he has received from family and friends.He didn't know Miller Jr. and did not recognize him when he pulled up in front of the yard."It's scary that this could have happened," Anthony said. "Never in a million years would I have thought something like this could happen. It bothered me that it did. It still does."

Anthony Mitchell

Mitchell served in and survived Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s when President George H.W. Bush ordered troops to the Mideast in response to Iraq invading Kuwait.Late last year, he survived two bullets from Miller Jr. But as he did when he returned from war, Mitchell is still haunted by the shooting."I go to bed, I see the guy. On the driveway, I see the guy. Someone driving up to the stop sign, I see the guy. When I pull up to the road, I get real scared," said Mitchell, 44. "I already had post traumatic stress disorder, and then this happened."Mitchell, 44, was born and raised in Madison County. He joined the Army and did mechanical work on attack helicopters — Apaches, Cobras, Blackhawks. He said he was caught in a missile attack in Desert Storm that left him with a limp from a wound. He also developed PTSD, which is being treated with medicine and counseling.Mitchell, married and the father of an 11-year-old daughter, was in his front yard at 1711 SE 39th Terrace with a friend when he saw a pickup speeding south on 17th Street, blow through the stop sign, make a left turn and then back up into Mitchell's front yard."He acted like he owned the place. He pulled real close to me. I said, ‘What do you want, man?' and saw that he had a gun pointed at me," Mitchell said. "I started running. He hit me in the hand. He shot off a lot of shots and hit me in the side."The first bullet entered the side of Mitchell's left hand and exited near the thumb. The second shot entered the left side of his torso, tore through muscle and exited the back.A neighbor began driving Mitchell to the hospital but along the way they were stopped by a sheriff's deputy, who pulled a gun and made him get on the ground. He made them stay until an ambulance came about 20 minutes later, Mitchell said."He wasn't helping me. He just made me sit there," Mitchell said. "When I was in the ambulance, they didn't take me straight to the hospital. They went to pick up the other guy that got shot in the shoulder. They said they didn't have enough ambulances because someone was going crazy shooting."Mitchell said he was released from Shands the next day. He said he has nerve damage in his hand."I'm doing the best I can. I go to therapy and counseling," Mitchell said. "Church is what really keeps me going."